half way through the book and unless a fuck up of epic proportion happen, i will definitely like the inheritance of loss more than the god of small things which read like a poor man's, indian tony morrison's whom i'm not even a big fan of to begin with.
"Over analysis is like the oil of the Match-Cut machine." KK2.0
I'm still working on 2666, but in the meantime, I've read two other books, Edwidge Danticat's excellent memoir, Brother, I'm Dying and the Steven Galloway's pedestrian The Cellist of Sarajevo.
Jeez, the title itself makes me hate it without even reading it.Quoting Hugh_Grant (view post)
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
The book's titular inspiration is Vedran Smajlović, whose act during the Siege of Sarajevo is truly remarkable. What I found most pedestrian was Galloway's prose. Not a bad book, but I couldn't help but feel it could have been much better.
Yeah, I refuse to read it due to the prose.
Finished Chuck Palahniuk's Rant. It was really interesting. Anyone else read it?
Started on his next one Snuff. Picked up his new one Pygmy. Can't wait to tear into that one, but need to finish Snuff first.
J R is definitely a challenge, but I'm loving it so far. Half the time I have no idea what the hell Gaddis is talking about, especially when he's in one of his funky little transitions, or he's describing the movement of a character's body, or nature. But I'm convinced you're not really supposed to get it entirely, just go with the flow.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
So, should I read JR or Gravity's Rainbow next? Decide for me.
I am loving J R. Love love loving it.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
Flip a coin. Either way, you win.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
Yeah, ultimately I think I prefer Gravity's Rainbow, but I think you're good either way. J R, despite being started in the 50's and released in the mid 70's, is pretty relevant to current economic times, so maybe that's a reason to choose it over Gravity's Rainbow.
I bought The Recognitions (also by Gaddis) recently, but don't plan on reading it for awhile. I want to put a bit of a gap between it and J R.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
I've been reading a lot lately, but really picking and choosing parts of books to read, not really finishing much.
I found this book of 8 short novels in my mom's library. So far I have read:
Notes From Underground (Dostoevsky) - This was a very quick reread. The last paragraph of this is one of my favourite things written.
The Death of Ivan Illych (Tolstoy) - Liked this better than Anna Karenina, probably because it was shorter. Still a lot of the boring critique of upper class Russians though.
A Simple Heart (Flaubert) - This one was amazing. It's about a sort of saintly housekeeper who starts praying to a stuffed parrot in her old age. Highly recommended. I must read Madame Bovary.
The Pupil (James) - Meh.
The Secret Sharer (Conrad) - A highly ambiguous work. Both adventure and metaphysics lesson. Liked it a lot.
The Metamorphosis (Kafka) - Don't know why I haven't read this already. I found it profoundly disturbing. Like, it was almost hard to finish.
I also read No Country for Old Men. It was much better than the movie. I thought it addressed most of my problems with the Coens' script. Even just a few scenes that the Coens cut really hurt the film, imo.
Also read parts of Kierkegaard's Either/Or. Kierkegaard is awesome.
Am about halfway through The Gift by Lewis Hyde. The first half is an anthropological study of gift based societies. The second half (which I am looking forward to reading) is about the artist in a capitalist society.
Also started Eugene Onegin by Pushkin. Liking it so far.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
I am reading this too right now, and agree, it's very strange.
Finished Tortilla Flat. Amazing Steinbeck. In fact, up there with my favorites of his. I was so impressed, I decided to read another of his, The Pearl, before moving on to another author.
I was a German major in college, so I read my fair share of Kafka. As much as I love The Metamorphosis, I had to stop teaching it a few years back because I have never assigned something that was so widely hated.
Reading about "A Simple Heart" made me think about Julian Barnes' sublime Flaubert's Parrot.
I don't know if it was clear from my post above, but I really loved The Metamorphosis. "Profoundly disturbing" can sometimes translate to that with me.
I will look into this Julian Barnes fellow. I don't know him at all.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
Can't believe you've never read this. It's utterly your thing. Read more Kafka.
In any case,
I really dug Utopia. Found it unexpectedly funny. I agree with a lot of his ideas, but I'd be a bit curious as to its implementations under the modern political sphere.
Reading Fear and Trembling now. I wish I understood more Hegel (or maybe read more philosophy). I find the little I grasp quite interesting, but the prose difficult.
Yeah, it was one of a number of books that I'm sure I would like, but I know a lot about (ie. the whole plot and general ideas) so I keep putting them off to read other stuff instead. Others included Crime and Punishment and 1984.
Of Kafka's work, I've also read The Trial. Amerika is sitting beside my bed...but there are so many books sitting beside my bed. I want to check out a few other ones first.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
Metamorphosis is the literary work I had most often assigned to me in college. I think at least four or five classes asked me to read it.
I like it, and I think the majority of other students liked it, too. Except for the handful of blondes who thought it was gross.
...and the milk's in me.
I liked The Trial. Wasn't blown away by it like everyone else seems to be.
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
Have you seen the Orson Welles adaptation?
...and the milk's in me.
Nope. Is it pretty faithful?
Now reading: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
So... it appears I made a deal with the devil. I've been trying to get my wife to read East of Eden for years, and so I told her recently that if she read it, after she finished I would read a book she wants me to read. Well, she's more than halfway through, calling it one of the best books she's ever read, and will undoubtedly read the entire novel.
The book that she's chosen for me? I'm pretty sure I don't even have to say it.
*weeps*
What what WHAT?
...and the milk's in me.
Posting Permissions
forum
Reply With Quote